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T HE K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S term s, b u t it comes to the same thing. Could a man be th e friend of Jesus Christ and believe and sta te such a thing? Nay, verily. Could I call you my friend if you said I was ill-born and my m other a p ro stitu te? Have we more fine feeling and common sense th a n Jesu s Christ? We are living in a free country and we are free to believe w hat we like, b u t we are not free to call ourselves friends of Jesus Christ and deny His virgin b irth . If we con tinu e to do so, we are religious crooks, unworthy of the esteem and respect of decent, honest people. Politicians are no t usually noted for over-much hon esty and integrity, b u t I have never known a politician, however honest or crooked, who was a Democrat and lost faith in th e Democrats and th e ir p lat form , who wouldn’t imm ediately resign his position, however lucrative, and cease to call him self a Democrat. W hat are we to th ink of men in our pulpits and sem inaries and universities,- who deny the virgin b irth , who have lost faith in it, for one reason or another, and still call themselves Christians— friends of th e Lord Jesus, and haven’t th e decency and honesty to leave th eir position and salary and confess th e ir change of belief? If they did this, they would w in th e esteem, sorrow and sym p athy of every man whatever his creed. But to hold tig h t to th e ir lucrative po sitions and deny everything they are paid to believe and teach, they pu t themselves beneath the respect and es teem of every honest man and win th eir contempt and disgust for such mean, contemptible, despicable, lew down, crooked ways. They are religious crooks dressed in th e garb of religion, scholarship and morality. A man is perfectly free to believe w hat he likes, b u t he isn ’t free to claim relationship and friendship w ith Jesu s Christ and deny th e virgin b irth . It is th e same about every other doc trin e of Christ. His dual and perfect n atu res, His vicarious d eath on the
Cross, His victorious resurrection, His ascension to Glory and His coming again. These are not idle theories to be believed or denied. These are v ital and fundam ental tru th s of Christ, abso lu tely essential if we are to be real, tru e friends of Christ. L et us make no mis tak e here and sacrifice tru th on the a lta r of so-called charity. We may do so, bu t we only succeed in alienating ourselves from Him. We can never be His friends a t the cost of His tru-th. But it is also th e tru th concerning ourselves. We may make and retain friends by hiding th e tru th about them or ourselves, bu t we can never become friends of Jesus Christ and not accept and believe the tru th Jesus declares con cerning ourselves. Jesus will never se cure our friendship a t th e sacrifice of His integrity. Why, if He made us His friends, while we denied His tru th con cerning us, He would lose more th a n He gained. W hat is th is tru th con cerning ourselves? We are lost, ruined, guilty, unclean. Born in sin and shapen in iniquity. Totally depraved, corrupt. Blind, foolish, desperately wicked. H ate God, not subject to God. Proud. Lov ers of pleasure more th a n God. Lovers of self, covetous, boasters, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, un thank fu l, un holy, w ithout n a tu ra l affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those th a t are good, traito rs, heady minded. Our h earts are deceitful above all things. Desperately wicked. Out of th e h ea rt of men, pro ceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornica tions, murders, th efts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. This is an aw ful charge again st men, b u t it’s tru e nevertheless, and w hether we like it or not, we must accept and believe it, if we are to be His friends. Man likes to th ink he is getting better and rising, b u t Jesus says he is a fall en and a fall-ing creature. Man likes to th in k of man as having risen from some anim al and as still ascending. The
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